Strainer for hat-sizing tanks.



Patented Aug. 8, I899. G. WELLS.

STRAINER FOR HAT SIZING TANKS.

(Application filed Apr 13, 1899.)

2 sheets sheet l.

No Model.)

WITNESSES:

No. 630,429. Patented Aug. 8, I899. a. WELLS.

STRAINEB. FOB HA T SIZING TANKS.

; (Aigplicution filed Apr. 13 1899.}

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR "Owe/a @EQWfLLS TM: norms PETER! 00.. mo'roumo. wAsumumn. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

GEORGE WELLS, OF SOUTH N ORWALK, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WELLS AUTOMATIC SKIMMER COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

STRAINER FOR HAT-SIZING TANKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent Nb. 630,429, dated August 8, 1899.

Application filed April 13, 1899. Serial No. 712,896. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WELLS, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Norwalk, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Strainers for Hat- Sizing Tanks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable'others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Myinvention relates to hat-sizin g machines, but more particularly has reference to strain- 1 ing devices for removing all sorts of impurities, such as hairs and particles of fur, from the tank or kettle within which the hats are dipped during the sizing operation.

The object of my invention is to provide a strainer which shall rapidly cleanse the water from impurities, which can be readily adjusted to occupy the proper position within the tank, and which is so constructed that there can be no forcing of the particles of fur from the strainer itself out again into the tank; and with these ends in view my invention consists in certain details of construction and combination of parts, such'as will be hereinafter fully described and then specifically be designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may more fully understand the construction and operation of the same, Iwill proceed to describe it in detail, referring by numerals of reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application; and in which- Figures 1 and 6 are vertical sectional elevations taken in planes at right angles to each other and showing my improvement as it appears when in operative position within a hatsizing tank or kettle; Fig. 2, a detail end elevation of the clamp-sections and the strainersupporting bar; Fig. 3, a detail perspective of the clamp-sections and said supportingbar; Fig.4,a detail perspective of the strainersocket; Fig. 5, a detail planview of a modified form'of strainer, and Fig. 7 a detail plan of my preferred style of strainer.

Similar numbers of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Heretofore various strainer devices have been contrived for use in connection with hat ters kettles, in some of which water-elevator pipes have been employed, while in others these pipes have been dispensed with and the general current or evolution of the water relied upon to discharge the water through the strainer; but in all of these devices the bottom of the strainer has been perforated, so that it frequently happens that the strong upward current due to the action of the steamjets has forced the water, together with the impurities, up out of the strainer and out again into the tank; also, it is true that all kettles for sizing purposes are not alike and that the steam-pipe for heating the kettles is notlocated in the same position or at the same angle in all instances.

My improvement aims to provide a strainer which shall take in quite a large area of the upward current within the tank due to the action of the steam-jets which are usually located in the bottom of the tank at the sides or center thereof, and I furthermore make provision by entirely closing the bottom of the strainer, whereby there can be no upward current through the strainer itself.

1 is the usual tank or kettle, and 2 the heating-pipe, which in the present instance is disposed in a coil around the bottom of the tank, while communicating with this coil is the pipe 3, which rises upwardly through the water in the tank and communicates with any suitable steam source. This coil of pipe at the bottom of the tank is perforated on the inside in many places, as shown at 4, so that the live steam may be discharged into the water in the tank toward the center thereof, the result being that there is a strong upward current always rising in the tank.

5 6 are cylindrical strainers connected bya web 7, the sides of these strainers being perforated from the bottoms up to a short distance from the upper edges thereof, while the web is preferably solid. These strainers at their outside portions or those portions which are most remote from each other are cut away so as to leave gates S 9, and wings 1O 11 are distended from the side edges of these gates, so as to afford contracted months for the purpose of inducing the entrance of a large body of water within the strainers. vThe bottoms of the strainers are closed and are formed by forcing inverted metal cups within the lower portions of the strainers, so that the closed portions of the cups constitute the bottoms 12 13 of these strainers, the stock of the strainers and cups being then forced outwardly by a suitable tool, as shown at the points let 15, so asto: fi rmly lock these bottom portions within the strainers. It will thus be readily understood that not only are the strainers closed as against any upward current of the'water, but that they are also hollow or cup-shaped at the bottom, thereby providing dead ends or spaces which prevent the water from difiu'sing laterally, as it otherwise would do if forced against a flat surface not housed in by any sides.

Secured to the upper portion of the web 7 is a socket 16, to which is fitted a latch 17, which by its gravity normally is projected within the interior of said socket.

18 19 are the complementary sections of a clamp, which are secured by means of screws 20 to the pipe 3 at any desired elevation. The section 19 has depending therefrom ears 21, between which is the bar 22, which supports the strainer. This bar has an elongated slot 23 extending lengthwise thereof, and through this slot a stud 24 extends from said ears, so that it will be readily understood that this supporting-bar is capable of rockingand slid- V ing movements.

25 are leveling-screws, which are driven through the section 19 down against the upper edge of the bar 22 on opposite sides of the stud 24, so that it will be clear that by the operation of these screws this bar may be leveled to a horizontal plane or may be tilted at an angle, as may be desired.

Sometimes it is necessary that the steampipe should rise upward through the tank at an angle; but in the adjustment of the strainers this may be compensated for by the manipulation of the leveling-screws 25, so that the strainers may always hang vertically within the tank.

26 is a bolt carried atone extremity of the bar 22 and adapted to be inserted within the socket 16, one edge of this bolt being provided with a notch 27, with which the latch 17 engages to prevent the withdrawal of said bolt accidentally.

Sometimes the pipe 3 extends at such an angle that it becomes desirable to provide for the vertical disposition of the strainer when it is necessary that the latter shall always extend in the same direction within the tank, and I therefore have swiveled this bolt 26 to the bar 22 and have threaded the inner end of this swiveled portion and driven a nut 28 thereon, so that when the bolt has been turned to bring the strainer into vertical disposition the tightening of the nut will hold the bolt in place.

In removing the strainer the rear end of the latchis depressed, thereby releasing said latch out of the socket in the bolt, and the strainer is then lifted out of the tank in a very convenient manner by grasping the outer end of the socket.

Theoperation of my improvement is as follows: As the water in the tank is heated a strong upwardcurrent will.arise, owing to the'fact that the heating is effected at the bottom of the tank. This current is of course continuous and the water containing the impurities will flow through the gates 8 9 into the strainers, the wings 1O 11 serving to induce the entrance of a large body of water within these strainers. As fast as the water passes into the strainers it will flow out through the sides of the same, while the impurities will sink to the bottom of the strainers, and the current in the tank cannot disturb these impurities for the reason that the bottoms of the strainers are closed. It will thus be readily understood that there can be no disturbance within the strainers such as would tend to keep the impurities in constant agitation to the extent that they would be carried out of the strainers after they have once been deposited within the same, and therefore the tank will be kept exceedingly free from impurities.

, I prefer to make these double strainers round in cross-section for the reason that the from its normal condition by a strainer of this shape, but of course I do not wish to be limited in this respect, since the strainer may be made in half-cylindrical sections 29 30, as illustrated in the plan View at Fig. 5,-in which instance I could dispense with the wings 10 11, the gist of my invention residing in the broad idea of providing a double strainer connejcted by a web and having closed bottoms, and, furthermore, in the provisions hereinbefore described for the universal adjustments of the strainer, so that it will always hang within the tank in a vertical plane.

Having thus described my invention,- what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A strainer for a' hat-sizing tank, comprising two properly-shaped sections joined together by a web and perforated at the sides and having closed bottoms, in combination with a clamp secured to the steam-pipe, and means for detachably securing said sections and said clamp in vertical disposition, subs'tantially as set forth.

2. In a strainer for a hat-sizing tank, the combination of the two cylindrical strainersections joined together by a web and perforated at the sides and closed at the bottoms, the socket'secured to said web, the clamp-sections secured to the steam-pipe which rises through the tank, the parallel ears depending from one of the clamp-sections, the bar having an elongated slot, the stud passed from said ears through said slot, the leveling-screws driven through the last-named clamp-section against the upper edge of said bar on opposite sides of said stud, the notched bolt swivcurrent in the tank is the least disturbedeled to the outer end of said bar, the nut driven on the swiveled end of said bolt which latter is adapted to enter said socket, and the latch fitted to said socket and adapted to engage with the notch in said bolt, substantially as set forth.

3. A strainer for a hat-sizing tank, com prising two properly-shaped sections joined together by a web and having perforated sides and closed cup-shaped bottoms, substantially as set forth.

4. A strainer for hat-sizing tanks, comprising two cylindrical-shaped sections open at the tops and joined together at their middle portions in vertical disposition by a web and having perforated sides and closed cupshaped bottoms, and cut down at diametrically opposite points at their upper edges'and provided with wings which distend from said cut-away portions, substantially as set forth.

5. In a hat-sizing tank, the combination with the steam heating pipe which rises through said tank, of a strainer suspended from said pipe within the tank, said strainer comprising two'cylindrical sections open at the tops and closed at the bottoms and having perforated sides and joined together at the middle portions of said sides by a web, substantially as set forth.

6. In a strainer for a hat-sizing tank, the combination of the clamp secured to a stationary part of the tank, the strainer-supporting bar having an opening therethrough, the stud passed from said clamp through said opening, and the screw driven through said clamp against said bar on opposite sides of said stud whereby said bar may be adjusted to various horizontal planes, substantially as set forth.

7. In a strainer for hat-sizing tanks, the combination of the clamp secured to a stationary part of the tank, the strainer-supporting bar having an elongated slot, the stud driven from said clamp through said slot, and

the screws driven from said clamp against the bar on opposite sides of said stud, whereby said bar may have both angular and lengthwise adjustments, substantially as set forth.

8. In a strainer for a hat-sizing tank, the combination of the strainer-supporting bar, the clamp secured to a stationary part of the tank and by which said bar is supported, the bolt swiveled to the inner end of said bar, the nut driven upon a threaded end of said bar,- whereby the latter may be secured in various rotary adjustments, and the strainer having secured thereto a socket within which said bolt is inserted, substantially as set forth.

9. In a strainer for a hat-sizing tank, the combination of the clamp secured to the steampipe and provided with depending ears, the strainer-supporting bar having therein an elongated slot, the stud driven through said ears and slot, the screws driven through said clamp against said bar on opposite sides of said stud, the bolt swiveled to the inner end of said bar and threaded at its swiveled end,

the nut driven 011 said threaded portion, and

'the strainer having secured thereto a socket GEORGE WELLS.

Witnesses:

JACOB M. LAYTON, FRED H. ROWAN. 

